An extension of a sales tax, which the City of Tumwater uses to fund road maintenance projects, drew overwhelming support from voters in a special election on Tuesday, April 22.
Proposition No. 1 received 3,308 "approved" votes, or 76.40%, compared with 1,022 "rejected" votes, or 23.60%, according to unofficial results released by the Thurston County Auditor's Office Elections Division on Tuesday evening.
The outcome paves the way for the Transportation Benefit District (TBD) to continue being funded by a 0.2% sales tax for another 10 years.
Since the TBD was first approved by Tumwater voters in 2015, more than $19 million has been generated for streets and sidewalks.
"Additionally, the taxes collected through the TBD have so far helped to secure $6 million in grants, often through matches in available funds," said the City of Tumwater in an advertisement promoting the proposition ahead of the special election.
The sales tax money has been used to pay for more than 100 miles of road improvements since 2015, according to the city.
At the same time, its has also paid for more than 50,000 tons of asphalt for city roads and more than 100 new or replaced curb ramps.
Voter turnout for the special election measured 22.95 percent. The City of Tumwater had 18,877 registered voters at the time of the election.
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Southsoundguy
People who don’t want to be taxed need to vote. The commies will always show up to take your stuff.
Thursday, April 24 Report this
TomBoucher
Glad this succeeded. Pretty small price to pay for maintaining and improving roads, a basic, basic civic function.
Friday, April 25 Report this